2014 Container Challenge Results

Containers of Tomorrow Finalists: What will become of container gardening in years to come?

by Michelle Gervais

Last spring, when we announced the theme of the newest Container Design Challenge, we asked you to predict the future of container design. We imagine there was a bit of head-scratching going on, but while it might have stymied you all for a while, in the end your predictions made for some highly attractive and entertaining entires! Here are the winner and a number of clever finalists.

The Winner!

A design that both evokes and saves waterBy Nancy Lowry Moitrier from Annapolis, Maryland

“Each new year in the garden brings unexpected challenges, oftentimes with fabulous results. Knowing that the future of our water supply is in question, we all need to be designing with and planting xeric plants. With this thought in mind, I created this towering, 12-foot-tall planting. The combination of succulents resembles living coral at the bottom of our oceans and the ageratum surrounding them is homage to the seas where beautiful corals live. This container receives only a light misting of water twice a week when we have no rain.”

Congratulations, Nancy! We love both your vision and your design. You win $200 gift certificates to both Lee Valley Tools and Bluestone Perennials. Have fun on your shopping sprees!

The Finalists:

Making a big splash with fewer resourcesBy Jane Horn from Prior Lake, Minnesota

“When we have a shortage of water in the future, we can still use container plantings to make a big impact by combining them with sculpture. It would no doubt take at least seven containers grouped together to make the same impact as this one sculpture combined with one container. The bonus with this sculpture is that it collects and directs rain water into the container.”

Preparing to blast off into spaceBy Penny Pollock-Barnes from Fort Scott, Kansas

“With the advent of commercial space flight, it’s just a matter of time before we are all rocketing off to our vacations on Europa. It may be a while before normal people can actually afford a trip to space but there is a decent chance our children might break orbit. This container symbolizes our future in space. The red canna flower represents the flames lifting the rocket, made by my seven year old daughter and me, into the sky and beyond. The greens and browns below represent the plants and soil of the Earth.”

Rediscovering the origins of foodBy JoAnn Boyer from Riverbank, California

“In the future, automation has removed the human touch from food production. The art of gardening is disappearing. But we will need that skill to survive someday. Making a tub vegetable garden gives you the opportunity to feel the soil, to choose the plants you grow, and to experience the simple joy and superb flavor of your first home-grown tomato. Now you’re an urban farmer!”

“My container is based on Ray Bradbury's book "Fahrenheit 451" and his futuristic world where books and reading are banned. My planter is a pile of books with flames of red and yellow celosia above and blue flames of lobelia below, all in a fire grate.”

1. Celosia (Celosia argentea cvs., annual)

2. Lobelia (Lobelia erinus cv., annual)

Finding beauty amidst choas

By Jeff Carlton from Kingsport, Tennessee

“My vision of the future in gardening, what with climate change, difficult economic situations, and global hunger and suffering, is all represented here in this container. Gardeners will always find a way to express and demonstrate beauty no matter the situation. I used an old discarded fire pit as the container, filling it with drought tolerant plants that are able to withstand harsh dry conditions. This container was not watered even once all season after the initial planting and watering. The deer skull was another found object. I hope this container adequately conveys the hope and resilience of human nature to make the most of and to conquer any situation.”